Strikeforce returns Jan. 29 with Diaz vs. Cyborg, Jacare vs. Lawler

The Strikeforce welterweight champion will fight on Jan. 29, as has long been expected, but a much-anticipated bout with Jason “Mayhem” Miller has been put on hold for now.

Instead, Diaz will defend his belt against Brazilian striker Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos (18-13 MMA, 1-0 SF). The pair will server as the main event for Strikeforce’s long rumored Jan. 29 event at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

Diaz looks to defend his belt for a second time. The hot-tempered Cesar Gracie disciple carries an eight-fight win streak that includes a pair of catchweight wins over Frank Shamrock and Scott Smith, as well as a January 2010 win over potent striker Marius Zaromskis to claim the title and an October defense of the belt over the last man to defeat him, K.J. Noons.

Meanwhile, Santos comes to cage with a two-fight win streak that includes a June win over Zaromskis. While Santos, the husband of Strikeforce female champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, has had many ups and down in his 13-year career, the Brazilian slugger looked re-invigorated in the win over Zaromskis, which served as the 33-year-old’s first fight for Strikeforce and debut at 170 pounds.

Souza won the vacant 185-pound belt this past August at “Strikeforce:
Houston” after a surprisingly striking-centered bout with former Army
Ranger Tim Kennedy, which MMAjunkie.com scored as a draw for its often
indecisive exchanges. Still, the victory served as the apex of a
three-fight streak for Souza after migrating from DREAM to Strikeforce
in late 2009. Prior to Kennedy, the decorated submission grappler put
away veterans Matt Lindland (by submission) and Joey Villasenor (by
decision).

Lawler surely is amped to vie for a title once again after the collapse of
EliteXC in 2008 turned his middleweight belt into a shiny paperweight.
The H.I.T. Squad original is weeks removed from adding another clip to
his highlight reel performance with a first-round knockout of Lindland
at “Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II.” (The win may have signaled
Lindland’s exit from the promotion.)

Six months prior, Lawler kicked himself over an uninspired performance
against Renato “Babalu” Sobral that resulted in a unanimous-decision
loss at “Strikeforce: Los Angeles.”

In fact, Lawler’s four-fight career with the promotion has been marked
with steep ups and downs. He fell prey to a guillotine choke in the
first round of a June 2009 bout with Jake Shields, and he then delivered
a blistering first-round knockout of Melvin Manhoef this past January.

Walker – the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner, a former NFL great and 1992
Olympic bob-sledder – is a lifelong martial artist who plunged into the
world of mixed martial arts in 2009. To much media attention (and the
disdain of some fans), the 48-year-old made his pro debut a month later
and earned a TKO win over Greg Nagy at this past January’s “Strikeforce:
Miami” event.

Meanwhile, Carson fights for the second time since taking a nine-year
hiatus from professional fighting. The California resident racked up
four professional wins between 1999 and 2001, including a first-round
submission victory at the very first WEC event, but he was defeated by
Lorenz Larkin upon his return to the sport in 2010.

Prangley, a South African who’s fought at middleweight and light
heavyweight for organizations ranging from the UFC to BodogFIGHT, is
6-1-1 since a loss to Jorge Santiago in the finale of Strikeforce’s
single-night four-man middleweight tourney in 2007. The only loss came
to Tim Kennedy, but the 38-year-old Prangley rebounded in September with
a split-decision win over Keith Jardine at Shark Fights 13.

Gracie, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt best known for his grappling
titles, has fought only occasionally in MMA. However, he recently
returned from a two-year layoff and defeated notable Kevin Randleman at
“Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery” in May. Now planning to focus more
heavily on MMA, the highly touted 29-year-old has an opportunity post a
win over a very tough and resilient veteran fighter.

Additional sources close to the promotion indicated a previously reported bout between Tim Kennedy and Miller is still likely for early 2011 but will not take place on the Jan. 29 event.

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